SMI help

samy888

Hi,

I have recently (last week) split from my husband after finding out he was cheating. I was never the main bread winner and only ever had part time or casual work and stayed home to raise the children who are 7 and 11.

Now that he has gone i'm in a financial mess. I only work 27 hours term time. This is not enough to cover the mortgage or bills. I went to the jobcentre and was told quite rudly that i wasn't entitled to anything.

I phoned up tax credit who have told me that i was entitled to working tax credit as a lone parent at the higher rate.

I really need help with the mortgage payments but i have been repeatedly told i am not entitled to this unless i quit my job, which i don't want to do.

The options are all so bleak, sell up or move out. I've filled out a housing benefit form to see if i could claim council tax benefit but even that is scaring me.

I would really appreciate any advice.

Muttleythefrog

Might be worth using the benefits calculators to get a quick confirmation you probably are getting the all the help you can. It's worth pointing out Support for Mortgage Interest, even if you changed circumstances and qualified for it, is only a benefit designed to cover the interest... and even on that point they use an annually set universal rate rather than the actual one applying on your mortgage.. currently 3.63% if memory serves me well... and potentially not even for the whole amount I think in some circumstances... and indeed only after a waiting period.

The mortgage is clearly going to be an issue you have to tackle quite quickly. Whether he is named on the mortgage too could be important to consider... but ultimately you may have to speak to lender to see if they'll give you a bit of a break or relaxation on monthly payments while you resolve your new circumstances.

I'm well out of my depth regarding things like Child Support from other parent... but that is obviously an avenue to consider.

If you feel you're getting nowhere then welfare rights or CAB may be worth trying to get an appointment with as they can look in detail at circumstances and look at the various scenarios.

samy888

Thanks Muttleythefrog,

I'll give CAB a call on Monday. I did use the benefits calculator and it showed i would get £88 housing benefit. Selling the house and splitting the cash only leaves me with £30k. I couldn't afford another house with that amount and a rental property, at the current rate would eat into that pretty quickly. In the end i will be another lone parent living of the state with nothing to show for it.

Regarding Child support, aren't they a bit of a joke? My Ex is a full time gambler, they would have a hard time getting anything out of him.

Another option somebody suggested was if i move out and rent something else. Could i claim housing benefit on the rented property if i wasn't making a profit?

My mortgage is £635 but the rental houses cost around £1100.

Caz3121

you would not get housing benefit on a mortgaged property. You would have child benefit, child tax credits and possibly working tax credits.
Your own property would be disregarded for housing benefit elsewhere for up to 26 weeks if it was up for sale and all your income would be looked at to assess how much help with your rent you would get so you may be no better off as you would need to pay the difference yourself.
Have you spoken to your husband about the plans for the house?
Can you possibly speak to your lender about switching to interest only?

kingfisherblue

samy888 wrote: »

Hi,

I have recently (last week) split from my husband after finding out he was cheating. I was never the main bread winner and only ever had part time or casual work and stayed home to raise the children who are 7 and 11.

Now that he has gone i'm in a financial mess. I only work 27 hours term time. This is not enough to cover the mortgage or bills. I went to the jobcentre and was told quite rudly that i wasn't entitled to anything.

I phoned up tax credit who have told me that i was entitled to working tax credit as a lone parent at the higher rate.

I really need help with the mortgage payments but i have been repeatedly told i am not entitled to this unless i quit my job, which i don't want to do.

The options are all so bleak, sell up or move out. I've filled out a housing benefit form to see if i could claim council tax benefit but even that is scaring me.

I would really appreciate any advice.

If you give up work, you may be sanctioned (and you would be very lucky to get another term time job as they are as rare as hen's teeth in many areas ). You wouldn't get income support as lone parents can only claim for up to their youngest child reaching age seven (soon to be changed to age five). Instead it would be JSA, but if you give up a job, the DWP can sanction you for up to six months.

You need to close down any joint claim for child tax credit and open a new one as a single parent. It is likely to be a higher payment, as only your income will be taken into consideration. You may also receive working tax credit, as you have indicated.

Open up a claim for child maintenance with the CSA as soon as possible - it sounds as though your ex will not voluntarily pay CM. My ex is also a gambler and CM is taken from his wages, so he has to pay. He didn't pay for a long time, so there were arrears as well, which he had to pay. You can only claim CM from when you open a case, so do this as soon as possible. Yes, it can take time, but the CSA can and does work for a large number of people. Don't forget that few people will post saying that everything has run smoothly - they are more likely to post when something has gone wrong and they need advice.

samy888

Caz3121 wrote: »

Have you spoken to your husband about the plans for the house?
Can you possibly speak to your lender about switching to interest only?

He wanted it sold and the money split, i refused as i knew i would have no where to go.

I haven't phoned the mortgage lender yet. Switching to an Interest only mortgage still wouldn't help me as i wouldn't be entiltled to SMI.

samy888

kingfisherblue wrote: »

If you give up work, you may be sanctioned (and you would be very lucky to get another term time job as they are as rare as hen's teeth in many areas ).
QUOTE]

I know, i love my job and would never readily give it up.

My husband is self employed so i don't know how child support would get money from him.

samy888

samy888 wrote: »

kingfisherblue wrote: »

If you give up work, you may be sanctioned (and you would be very lucky to get another term time job as they are as rare as hen's teeth in many areas ).

I know, i love my job and would never readily give it up.

My husband is self employed so i don't know how child support would get money from him.

Muttleythefrog

samy888 wrote: »

He wanted it sold and the money split, i refused as i knew i would have no where to go.

I haven't phoned the mortgage lender yet. Switching to an Interest only mortgage still wouldn't help me as i wouldn't be entiltled to SMI.

But switching to interest only.. if you can do it will reduce monthly payments unless of course you're already on such a mortgage arrangement.

There's lots of good advice above. I'm not sure how benefits calculator suggested you'd get housing benefit as you own your own home.. it probably meant Council Tax benefit.

If you do take advice from CAB then the situation of your house must be right near the top of things to resolve since it seems to be jointly owned and one party wants to sell... your legal rights and possibilities on this point could dictate so much else.

kingfisherblue

there are ways and means of getting CM from a self employed ex - I'm not sure how they do it, but the amount is based on the last year's tax returns I think. You should be getting 20% of his income for your two children, less one seventh for fifty two nights he has them overnight (assuming he has them for fifty two nights a year). I am assuming that he is not living with someone and that there are other children in his current household.

[Deleted User]

Muttleythefrog wrote: »

Might be worth using the benefits calculators to get a quick confirmation you probably are getting the all the help you can. It's worth pointing out Support for Mortgage Interest, even if you changed circumstances and qualified for it, is only a benefit designed to cover the interest... and even on that point they use an annually set universal rate rather than the actual one applying on your mortgage.. currently 3.63% if memory serves me well... and potentially not even for the whole amount I think in some circumstances... and indeed only after a waiting period.

The mortgage is clearly going to be an issue you have to tackle quite quickly. Whether he is named on the mortgage too could be important to consider... but ultimately you may have to speak to lender to see if they'll give you a bit of a break or relaxation on monthly payments while you resolve your new circumstances.

I'm well out of my depth regarding things like Child Support from other parent... but that is obviously an avenue to consider.

If you feel you're getting nowhere then welfare rights or CAB may be worth trying to get an appointment with as they can look in detail at circumstances and look at the various scenarios.

the 3.63% ISN`T set annually,it will only change when and if the bank of england advertised average mortgage changes by 0.5%
(this isnt the b of e interest rate btw,but the average mortgage rate they calculate every 3 months)